Gallery
Description
A dynamically transformed auditorium is the centerpiece of the new Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts building, an early-1960s facility renovated and augmented to reflect the values expressed daily by the Academy’s students and faculty. Featuring a new fly loft, newly raked seats, excellent sightlines, “tunable” acoustic walls, a portable sprung floor for dance, and a state-of-the-art projection system, the 720-seat auditorium facilitates the learning of performance arts and stagecraft at the highest level. A new blackbox theater adjacent to the auditorium accommodates avant-garde theatrical explorations.
A 40,000 sf addition clusters the school’s major performance and display venues around a reimaged arrival point that serves as the feature event entrance for the facility and, by virtue of its positioning along a major east-west artery, enhances the building’s public presence. Four new dance studios were created from former technology shops; a fitness room became a double-height dance studio for the practice of lifts. Construction of a two-story link and entrance on one side of a former service court enclosed the space and enabled its transformation into a landscaped outdoor classroom and performance venue featuring an open-air café.
Distinctions
- American Society of Interior Designers - NY Upstate/Canada East Chapter
- Best of Competition
- Schooldesigner.com
- Bronze Award for "Students Love It"
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“This auditorium is both pleasing to the eye and functional. The floors, the walls, and even the ceiling are all very good looking and toy with many different patterns and designs. The technology that has been put into this building is amazing. With the 'tunable acoustic system,' the flexibility for different music will be astonishing. The rotating walls will improve the reverberation time of the music.”
- American Society of Interior Designers
- Honorable Mention
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“Beautiful lines in the ceiling of the auditorium and details throughout. Very nice”
- Schooldesigner.com
- Silver “Best”
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““Excellent examples of reuse and renovation with flexible design considerations and environmental sustainability." "A handsome, even elegant execution that feels rich and polished. Impressive in that it can be adjusted to fit different needs, including set-up of an appropriate acoustical system and stage that allows for flexibility.” ”